Manually Updating M-Files

Note: By default, M-Files is automatically updated and manual update is not necessary. For more information, see Updating M-Files.
The M-Files installer automatically detects the previous versions of the software and can migrate the settings from the old to the new version. Do not uninstall any previous versions of M-Files.

To update M-Files to a newer version:

  1. Execute the M-Files installer for the new version.
  2. Select the Simple upgrade option.

When you select the Simple upgrade option, the setup automatically installs the same components that are installed in the earlier M-Files version. The setup installs the new version and transfers the M-Files settings and all local data from the earlier version to the new version. Finally, the setup uninstalls the earlier version.

Important remarks

  • If you are upgrading from a version that is older than M-Files 2015, note that the new installation includes significant improvements to the vault database structure. This means that – especially with large document vaults – the upgrade process might take substantially longer than usual. Ensure that the server computer has at least twice the amount of free space required by the metadata database file (the FDB file for Firebird and MDF file for Microsoft SQL Server databases). The database structure is upgraded automatically by the M-Files installer.
  • Property group and dynamic property configuration for M-Files 10.2 and M-Files 2015 has been replaced with more versatile configuration options in M-Files 2015.1 and later. See the document Configuring the Metadata Card (M-Files 2018 and M-Files Online) for more details.
  • If you upgrade M-Files Server from M-Files 2015.2 or earlier to M-Files 2015.3 or later and both of these are true:
    • You have a vault that contains documents either in the Chinese, Japanese, or Korean language.
    • The selected primary or secondary language for the full-text search features of the vault is some other than Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. For more information, see Creating a New Document Vault.
    In such a case, you must rebuild the full-text search index of the vault after the upgrade is complete so that the documents in these languages are still retrievable by searching their contents. For instructions, see Vault Maintenance.

  • In M-Files 2018 and later, the task area is collapsed by default along the left side of the user interface and it can be expanded by the user. In some cases it may be a good idea to have the task area visible by default. The initial state of the task area can be configured with a registry setting that must be configured before you upgrade to M-Files 2018 or later. For more information, see Setting the Initial State of the Task Area.

Installation preconditions

For information on the product versions that M-Files supports, refer to M-Files Lifecycle Policy.

All M-Files Server instances in a replication setup must have the same four- or five-digit build number (for instance 11534 in 22.6.11534.4 and 22.6.11534.4).

M-Files Server for M-Files 2018 is compatible with M-Files Desktop 2018 and Online. Correspondingly, M-Files Server for M-Files Online is compatible with M-Files Desktop 2018 and Online.

To verify compatibility with M-Files API and replication, see M-Files version compatibility regarding API and Replication.

Note: In some cases, you must disable your antivirus software for the duration of the upgrade process.

Installation order

You can choose to either first upgrade the client computers and then the server computer, or first the server computer and then the client computers. If you do not upgrade to the immediately subsequent M-Files version, make sure that the new version is compatible with the old version to avoid unnecessary interruptions. In such a case it is also recommended that you first upgrade the server and then the client computers.
Note: Some of the new properties of the higher M-Files version may not be available until both M-Files Desktop and M-Files Server have been upgraded to the new version.

Upgrading offline vaults

As the internal database structure of the document vault changes during a software upgrade, the document vaults must be upgraded as well. All the vault in the online state are upgraded automatically during a software upgrade, but if any of the vaults are in the offline state, they need to be upgraded manually. To do this, open the vault context menu in M-Files Admin and select Upgrade.

Preparing for the server upgrade

Before installing the upgrade on M-Files Server, ensure that the following conditions are met:
  • Make sure that your server fulfills the hardware and software requirements of the new version (see System Requirements and Technical Details).
  • The administrator should also ensure that recent backups of the document vaults are available and usable. The backups may be useful should an unexpected fault situation occur during the server upgrade.
  • The administrator should also take backups of the master database.
  • The backups should preferably be stored on a separate disk drive.

In the event of a fault situation, write to our customer support at [email protected] immediately. Do not attempt to rectify the fault yourself, as solving the fault situation is usually much easier if no additional actions have been performed.

Service releases

Service releases are smaller M-Files software upgrades that share the same main version number (for example "11.0" for M-Files 2015), followed by the four-digit version ID for the service release. For instance, versions 11.0.4300.47 and 11.0.4300.58 are service releases for M-Files 2015 (11.0.4300.27). Usually, the service releases do not contain any new properties, but rather are released if faults requiring repair are detected in the software, or if compatibility with higher versions of other software requires changes to M-Files.

Service release versions are fully compatible between each other and can be installed in whichever order. In other words, whether the service release is installed first on the workstations and then on the server, or vice versa, makes no difference.

Centralized deployment with Windows Group Policy

You can use the Windows Group Policy feature to automatically distribute M-Files to client computers. Alternatively, you may use any other centralized deployment mechanism that you are familiar with. You can also customize the behavior of the M-Files setup program. For further information on these options, refer to Installing M-Files Desktop, M-Files Server, and M-Files Admin with Advanced Options.